To POPLA or not to POPLA

BettyBooHoo

Wise ones,

Grateful for your advice please:
For reasons I wont bore you with, BPA have brokered negotiations between myself (Registered Keeper Appeal) and the operator. BPA provided their investigation number.
The Operator has issued two appeal refusals: their first contained a flagrant disregard of the truth, claiming that I had admitted to something that I had not and gave a POPLA reference. The second was less defamatory but provided the same POPLA ref that was by then expired.
BPA subsequently advised by email that the Operator had provided a further POPLA reference number. I emailed BPA to say that I would not appeal unless / until I received formal notification by the Operator of that reference number. I have since emailed BPA on two further occasions requesting that they advise their accredited operator that I am awaiting formal notification. A week later and still nothing heard.
Question - Do I (dare I) use that POPLA reference to submit an appeal when I have no knowledge of what the operator will have submitted in association, bearing in mind their previous disregard of the truth? I also have no idea of the time period associated to that POPLA reference.
I don't want to miss the appeal window so, if I do progress the matter without formal notification, what wording should I use to make it clear that the Operator has failed to comply with BPA Approved Operator Scheme Code of Practice, 23.12:-

If you reject an appeal you must: • tell the motorist how to make an appeal to IAS. This includes providing a template ‘notice of appeal’ form or a link to the appropriate website for lodging an appeal and a valid 10-digit verification code. Even if the verification code is automatically printed on an enclosed appeal form, it must still be in a prominent position on the first page of the rejection letter

Getting desperate here as I have already received two debt recovery letters, despite the open BPA investigation.

Fruitcake

If you have a PoPLA code, I suggest you use it. It will cost you nothing and you can include anything and everything relevant including failure to follow the BPA CoP and subsequent BPA "Instructions."

PoPLA codes last for 32 days, if that is any help.

Debt collectors are powerless and can safely be ignored, but if you have an open appeal, then you should make separate complaints to the BPA about the debt collection bog-paper each time you receive another batch.

What happened when you complained to the landowner?

Have you complained to your MP yet?

Coupon-mad

Question - Do I (dare I) use that POPLA reference to submit an appeal 

Yes, use it if the BPA gave it to you.  Show us your POPLA draft first.

You can find out when it was generated by looking up the EPOCH DAY online.  The middle numbers are the epoch day generated and the next digit will be a 2 (for 2022).  That then tells you the day in 2022 when the code started.  It lasts 33 days.

BettyBooHoo

Fruitcake & Coupon-mad,
Thank you both so much for the swift response; information and offer to check my POPLA appeal before sending it.

Fruitcake said:

Debt collectors are powerless and can safely be ignored, but if you have an open appeal, then you should make separate complaints to the BPA about the debt collection bog-paper each time you receive another batch.

What happened when you complained to the landowner?

Have you complained to your MP yet?

 - I advised BPA upon receipt of each debt collector letter, reminding them that, at that stage they had an open investigation into my complaint (their idea of an 'investigation' was interesting to say the least!) They have now closed it, having finally provided some bewildering responses to each of my complaints. I am considering pursuing their response at a later date but I think POPLA should be the focus of my attentions now.
 - Complaint to Landowner... now there's a thing! I have attempted via various means to establish the identity of the Landowner but without success. I requested details from the Operator plus sight of their authority to act on behalf this mysterious entity - they told me that GDPR prevented such disclosure! (I'm pretty sure I know what you will think of that!)
 - MP: I went on line to request a surgery appointment (quoting the Hansard details you have previously provided) but have yet to hear back. To be fair, there are far more important things going on in the world at the moment but I will continue to pursue this angle as the numbers of vehicles that get ticketed in this location is an outrage.

Thanks again both - I really appreciate your support.

Trainerman

Coupon-Mad and Fruitcake know what they are doing , so do follow that advice. Do not expect much of PoPLA. I have a very low opinion of them but it is still worth doing. They may cancel the ticket, and if they do not you still have options ( and it will have cost the PPC around £28).

If that does happen, do not be put off by debt collector letters. They are meaningless

Umkomaas

Complaint to Landowner... now there's a thing! I have attempted via various means to establish the identity of the Landowner but without success.

Here are a few avenues to explore:

1. Google searches

2. If a retail park, check on any signage which lists the on-site outlets

3. Ask retailers on the site if there is a managing agent

4. Ask retailers on the site to whom do they pay rent

5. Contact the local authority and ask who pays the non-domestic/business rate for the car park (some councils have a spreadsheet on their website)

6. Contact the local Valuation Office and ask if they know. They often have a website which might provide the information 

7. Contact The Land Registry and for around £3 they should be able to provide definitive detail

8. If you haven't already done so, give us the name of the car park/site/location, we may have seen other cases there. 

Which parking firm are you dealing with, advice can differ depending on the PPC?

D_P_Dance

Use it., it will cost them money.  Have you complained to your MP?

BettyBooHoo

Umkomaas said:

Complaint to Landowner... now there's a thing! I have attempted via various means to establish the identity of the Landowner but without success.

Which parking firm are you dealing with, advice can differ depending on the PPC?

Thanks Umkomaas, I have tried most of the options you have quoted but without success so far. I thought it was a bit odd that the local Town Council had no idea. I haven't gone down the Land Registry route yet but I reckon the POPLA appeal needs to be the priority now.

I have been wary of posting details of the specific parking firm on here so far as I didn't want my case to be easily identifiable.
Am I being overly cautious?

BettyBooHoo

Forgive me if this has cropped up on previous posts but has the following wording been encountered on PPC appeal rejections before? It was on their first rejection letter but not the second (issued following my complaint to BPA)

Please note further, as per the POPLA website, if you the keeper of the vehicle persist that you were not the driver of the vehicle, POPLA cannot accept your appeal. In order to appeal you need to be the driver, named on the Parking Charge Notice or doing this on behalf of someone else in these 2 categories. If you submit an appeal to POPLA in your name, they will treat you as the driver of the vehicle, and that you have admitted to be the driver of the vehicle, even though you have not admitted this in your correspondence/ appeal with **********.

I have looked on the POPLA website and have yet to find evidence of it.

KeithP

BettyBooHoo said:

Forgive me if this has cropped up on previous posts but has the following wording been encountered on PPC appeal rejections before? It was on their first rejection letter but not the second (issued following my complaint to BPA)

Please note further, as per the POPLA website, if you the keeper of the vehicle persist that you were not the driver of the vehicle, POPLA cannot accept your appeal. In order to appeal you need to be the driver, named on the Parking Charge Notice or doing this on behalf of someone else in these 2 categories. If you submit an appeal to POPLA in your name, they will treat you as the driver of the vehicle, and that you have admitted to be the driver of the vehicle, even though you have not admitted this in your correspondence/ appeal with **********.

I have looked on the POPLA website and have yet to find evidence of it.

That is only true for parking events in Scotland.

Are you based in Scotland or did the alleged parking take place in Scotland?

BettyBooHoo

KeithP said:

That is only true for parking events in Scotland.

Are you based in Scotland or did the alleged parking take place in Scotland?

Thanks KeithP - no, the event took place about as far from Scotland as it is possible to be in the UK!

So... another breach of BPA CoP that I can include then...